TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Tallahassee Flea Market is facing code violations and hundreds of dollars in fines.
The market shut down last summer after four decades due to severe damage from a winter storm.
Since then, it has been operating at 2801 North Monroe Street, in a motel parking lot under a lease agreement with the motel owners.
However, the market is now facing fines due to a violation citing unpermitted use of the premises. Flea market organizers said they initially received a building code violation on April 11, followed by a tent permit violation days later.
A Code Magistrate order filed May 7 revealed that the city fined the motel owners $250 for a temporary use permit violation based on testimony and evidence presented. An additional $250 per day will accrue each day the property remains in violation, according to the court record.
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However, organizers claim the tent violation does not apply to the market’s operations because the tents sit under permit measurements.
Besides city officials, some residents have also raised concerns regarding the flea market’s operations.
According to emails sent to city officials from one resident, the flea market activity in that area has raised various concerns, including a lack of a traffic-control plan, no clearly marked pedestrian areas, traffic backups along a major roadway, vehicles overflowing beyond the site’s parking capacity and drivers entering and exiting in ways that create hazardous conditions.
The resident said it is evident that there are people “actively and openly defying the ordinances of the City of Tallahassee, jeopardizing public safety and putting others at risk.”
“The people left carrying the risk are members of the public who reasonably expect that established safety standards are being upheld. If there is a medical emergency, first responders need unobstructed access and adequate clearance to react quickly,” the resident said. “These requirements are not arbitrary bureaucracy; they exist because public safety depends on them.”
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